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Home  The Junior Statement New Orleans Political Leadership Initiative: Mission Accomplished
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New Orleans Political Leadership Initiative: Mission Accomplished |
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Tuesday, 02 October 2007 |
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By Jordan Levine, Northeast State Ten students and two teachers New Orleans, Louisiana traveled to Washington to take part in the Northeast State’s Winter Congress convention as part of the New Orleans Political Leadership Initiative.
The students traveled to Washington fully subsidized – including their airfare, hotel fees, JSA registration fees, and meals – as part of the New Orleans Political Leadership Initiative, which was, according to Junior Statesmen Foundation Associate Executive Director Jeff Harris, “one of the best things JSA has ever done.”
The New Orleans delegation, led by Wenlong Wu, a senior at Benjamin Franklin High School, traveled to D.C. two days ahead of the rest of the convention to meet with Senators and Representatives and tour Washington. Students has the opportunity to meet with David Vitter (R-LA); The delegation also met with Congressman Bill Jefferson (D-LA), who was under an ethics investigation at the time for having $90,000 in his freezer! The students were able to talk to Senator Landrieu about the JSA event they were to attend over the weekend, problems facing the New Orleans School System, and the bills they were presenting – including a bill promoting Internet neutrality.
Jerry Schumacher, one of the faculty chaperones from New Orleans who traveled with the Orleans delegation, said, “…it was a life changing trip for everyone. Seeing the government in action was very exciting, and it was comforting to see that even though the security is heightened and omnipresent, the sites were all open and functioning.
The New Orleans Political Leadership Initiative, which I initiated and led with the help of over 20 JSA student leaders from across the country, was a new type of activism project for JSA. In the past, national activism projects consisted mainly of raising money and educating students about political issues frequently outside of the United States. What was different about this political activism project was that JSA was determined to extend its mission of student involvement and leadership and civic education to those areas that really did need it. This activism project related directly to JSA’s mission.
The disastrous aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, which pummeled New Orleans in August 2006, was amplified, in some people’s opinion, by a lack of adequate civic leadership. Our goal was to train new leaders who could return to New Orleans and improve their city in the future. I am proud to say, “mission accomplished!”
We accomplished our goal by raising funds at many of the JSA events that occurred between August and March. JSA students were always eager to participate. The project would also not have been possible without the generosity of the Board of Trustees and the JSF staff members. We raised close to $10,000, and the funds that were not used to help the New Orleans delegation attend Winter Congress will be used to help start chapters at their high schools and bring them to upcoming conventions in New Orleans’ JSA jurisdiction, the Texas State.
The project was success in every way possible and set a precedent for future activism projects that extend JSA’s mission to those places that need it most. |
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